


An Apple a Day Keeps Your Doctor Away

by yucc



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Apples, Future Fic, M/M, Male Slash, Post-Canon, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-02-08
Packaged: 2018-03-11 03:25:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3312146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yucc/pseuds/yucc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Midorima Shintarou was a pulmo specialist and Akashi Seijuurou had not maintained contact for over nine years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Apple a Day Keeps Your Doctor Away

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Alitheia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alitheia/gifts).



> THIS IS FOR YOU AND YOUR FASCINATION OVER APPLES, AL!!!!!!! so sorry this took such a long time _(:3

**Disclaimer:**

  * **Kuroko no Basuke (** **黒子のバスケ)** is created by _Tadatoshi Fujimaki_ , serialized in _Weekly Shounen Jump_ , published by _Shueisha_ , and animated by _Production I.G_.
  * The writer does not intend to gain any material from this.



—

Today’s Cancer lucky item was a red apple, and not even the color could help Midorima Shintarou stopping an old fragment from re-entering his life.

—

His last-minute case was a relapse from an asthmatic patient and Midorima Shintarou couldn’t lie about his surprisement when he found certain familiar redhead lying unconciously, looking every inch like the man was ready to embrace death right then and there. He never thought being a pulmo specialist would lead him back to one of his past, even though he was indeed rushed with relieved the moment Akashi Seijuurou opened his eyes. After all, maintaining a calm-and-composed posture whenever he was doing his job didn’t mean he wouldn’t feel anything if, _God forbidden_ , one of his patient passed away, _especially_ _not this one_.

Sometimes Midorima wondered, how much grasps Akashi still had in his life, despite not managing any contact for such a long time.

—

“You never once showed any asthma symptoms during middle school, Akashi.”

The red-haired man before Midorima simply moved his lips a bit in an attempt to give a simple smile. _Akashi, even with half-lidded eyes, somehow still managed to look so strong_ , Midorima noted in his head. He scribbled down his assession for the past few minutes, fully awared that Akashi hadn’t yet broken his eye-contact with the doctor.

Akashi’s voice was rather raspy yet still held that firm tone when he opened his mouth, “Pretend that in middle school, I was still young and high-spirited.”

Midorima choked on whatever made him and threw a glare to his patient on the bed.

“When did your vocabularies downgrade themselves, Akashi?”

When he was adding the final piece to his observation, the ex-captain’s laugh rang almost quitely in the room.

“People can change, Midorima. More over after nine years.”

Watching Akashi Seijuurou so close to him did make Midorima forget how many years they had spent apart from each other.

—

It wasn’t like he himself cut ties from his old teammates nine years ago. Midorima still met Shuutoku’s member from his era occasionally and Takao would still crash to his place whenever the raven-haired man got back from flying around the globe, chasing news after news. In the span of years soliding his reputation as a specialist, he had met Kuroko more than once a year, _unfortunately_ Kise even more often, had also visited Murasakibara’s pastry, and just months ago had helped Aomine not directly in solving a case.

It was Akashi who disappeared without any traces about nine years ago, not even Kuroko, the one who had been so close to him months before he was missing, knew a single thing.

—

“Where have you been, Akashi?”

“I’m actually glad you still remember me.”

“Why didn’t you contact any of us?”

“I never once thought this relapse would happen after years of having none.”

“How can you still be able to avoid my questions?”

“Ah, Midorima, do you know how many apples I consume nowadays?”

“…”

—

It wasn’t like Akashi declined anything Midorima had asked, but so far only simple things that didn’t relate to those void years had been answered.

However, it did take another two months and another relapse to finally get “Oslo” and “of course all-alone” and “maybe I was drunk and lost myself in my own head and almost jumped out of my own office building there” out of Akashi’s mouth. The redhead talked those things as if he was talking about weather which only made Midorima’s blood boiled even more.

Midorima couldn’t deny he wasn’t thinking about Akashi Seijuurou since his ex-rival appeared after years of losing contact.

—

Matter of factly, in spite of Akashi’s own opinion about his existence, everyone still remembered Akashi Seijuurou. The pulmo specialist seldom heard the former number four’s name slipped from Aomine, or even an “I wonder if Aka-chin was happy during his disappearance” from Murasakibara not long ago.

“What business have confined you to Oslo for nine years?”

“I assume you mean aside from the obvious reason that is perfecting contract after contract for my family’s corporations, Midorima?”

“Could you just say ‘no’ if you don’t want to answer at all?”

“I do want to give you some explanations given the right time.”

“Is _after nine years_ not a right time?”

Akashi chuckled and smiled an identic smile like he had done after his first relapse, then said calmly, “You still haven’t changed a bit, Midorima.”

—

At Akashi’s third relapse, the green-haired doctor realized that he still cared about Akashi Seijuurou, realized that deep down, he would always, _always_ care about his former captain.

Maybe because the sentimental part that Midorima thought never existed in his head identified Akashi as his first everything, including heartbreak and _many more_.

—

Midorima always found an apple, whether it was green or red, on Akashi’s dinner table when he came to visit. Usually Akashi would just laugh it off and sometimes Akashi would replay these two sentences over and over: “I once read that an apple a day will keep doctor away from me. I don’t want to be weak and sick so I do what I have to.”

The doctor always restrained himself from replying, except for one time:

“Are you saying that as an attempt to shove me away, Akashi?”

Rather than feeling offended, Akashi didn’t seem to mind a single bit. Akashi’s red eyes glinted that rare amusement and the man simply retorted back, “Have you ever thought it is actually the opposite?”

Really, that moment for Midorima, it felt like the number nine was erased with just a blink of an eye.

—

This was the simplest reason Akashi gave regarding his leaving:

“I have done so much wrong towards too many people, it’s better for me to take my leave.”

And this was the thing he said that one time he was in a really good mood, _or so he claimed_ :

“I don’t intend to leave again.”

—

“I’m done running and though it’s probably too late, I’m now chasing for things I have always cherised deep down.”

—

It had been half a year since Midorima renewed his acquaintance with Akashi and he was still the one who always initiated to come to Akashi’s place, not that he was bothered by it.

Midorima was done with his work earlier today, something that he never thought would happen these days. When he took off his white coat, his mind somehow wandered to Akashi’s routine check-up in the morning. The spectacled man just accepted the fact that warmth now invaded his chest whenever his mind chose to linger longer to a certain redhead-related memories after months of struggle.

The pulmo specialist was about to pick up his lucky item for the day from his table when he found something different with it. He flipped the green apple in his hand and found a piece of paper attached under the fruit.

_‘My place at nine pm. You’ve memorized the address, haven’t you?’_

Midorima spent approximately a minute staring directly to the familiar writing, his brain felt like it suddenly freezed itself. The fact that this was the first time Akashi invited him personally to his apartment of course didn’t go unnoticed by Midorima.

The doctor looked at his watch and found the hands showing half past seven, _he still had plenty_. He might have time to buy Akashi groceries, including a basket of apples. Midorima sighed once he was out of hospital, checked his watch again and accidentally caught the date sixth of July staring back to him. If Akashi hadn’t came back six months ago, his birthday tomorrow would mark the tenth year of Akashi Seijuurou’s absent in everyone’s lives, _in his life_.

They still had a lot to talk about, to be explained, to be settled, to be sorted, _nine years_ to make up for, but just as Akashi had said, all in the due time. Midorima had waited for years, he could keep up a little bit longer.

—

Today’s Cancer lucky item was a green apple, and surprisingly, Midorima Shintarou didn’t find any regret having Akashi Seijuurou back to his life.

 

**Author's Note:**

> please kindly correct any grammar errors in comment box below! :D
> 
> .
> 
> thank you for reading! :)


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